We’re excited to announce that our next Editorial Series will focus on sustainability in conservation tech.
The WILDLABS Editorial Series bring together different voices from our community to start important conversations on the big topics and themes that both unify and challenge our community in their conservation tech work around the world. Featuring thematically connected long-form articles from invited contributors, these series give us the space to explore many facets of one topic and hear many perspectives from experts in various corners of the conservation tech world, capturing a unique breadth of our community's experiences.
No matter what the overarching theme of our series, our goal is that you will find some facet of your own experiences, challenges, and goals represented, and that some experience or advice will speak to you.
Our first Editorial Series focused on the lessons learned through experiencing failure in conservation tech, and how sharing those lessons can strengthen our community and help us navigate challenges together.
As a follow-up to this theme, we believe the upcoming Sustainability series is a timely choice that addresses the growing questions that loom in our minds: How can the conservation tech community face climate change? How can we use our tools and expertise to make a difference and fight this global threat? And what practical steps can we take together to ensure that our positive impact outweighs the footprint of our work?
Beginning this week, we've seeded questions and prompts about different aspects of sustainability across our community in both our discussion forums and Twitter, inviting you to find the pathways and conversations that speak most to you and your work. As our community continues to grapple with these enormous questions, we've opened the discussion to uncover what aspects of sustainability matter most to you, what issues you face most often, and what opportunities and reasons for optimism you see awaiting us.
By creating spaces to keep these conversations growing and thriving throughout 2022 (and beyond!), we hope this series can grow into something more than just thematic articles and case studies. It will be shaped by you and reflect the concerns and hopes of a united community.
Explore all of the WILDLABS Discussion threads so far below:
- What are your biggest sustainability challenges and issues in your work?
- How can open source tools make conservation tech more sustainable and accessible?
- Current and future steps toward sustainability in conservation tech?
- How are you contributing to Regional or Local Sustainability?
- What emerging technologies could make conservation technology more sustainable?
You'll also find more relevant discussions and resources in our continually updated Collection.
And join the conversation in these Twitter threads:
We're excited to announce that our next WILDLABS Editorial Series will focus on the challenges of sustainability in conservation tech - and just as importantly, why the growing interest in the sustainability of critical #tech4wildlife tools makes us optimistic about the future! pic.twitter.com/HYygH0gnig
— WILDLABS Community (@WILDLABSNET) June 27, 2022
How many batteries do you use per year in your #tech4wildlife work? Understanding our current usage can help our community find alternatives as needed, reduce our impact, and take more sustainable steps in the long-run! pic.twitter.com/wyweFMNByD
— WILDLABS Community (@WILDLABSNET) June 28, 2022
The ongoing supply chain crisis in conservation tech has made many tools and materials scarce, and revealed the fragility of our access to conservation tech tools and resources. But can sustainable materials and open source tools help us navigate future supply chain issues? pic.twitter.com/EX9mrtLbXu
— WILDLABS Community (@WILDLABSNET) June 29, 2022
Yesterday we asked our #tech4wildlife community about supply chain impacts on sustainability. Today we’re interested in your thoughts on how buying materials locally and building regional capacity can support conservation technology sustainability. pic.twitter.com/kJLCWQuM3z
— WILDLABS Community (@WILDLABSNET) June 30, 2022
To wrap up our week of sustainability discussions here on Twitter, we’d like to ask our #tech4wildlife community two more big questions: How do you factor sustainability into your survey designs? And what small actions can you take to reduce your negative impact? pic.twitter.com/UUfK3uOAmo
— WILDLABS Community (@WILDLABSNET) July 1, 2022
Join the Series
Every member of our community is welcome to get involved in our conversations across WILDLABS!
For members with a specific story or point of view that they'd like to share in our series, we welcome pitches for articles, case studies, and thought pieces on the following sustainability topics:
- Batteries, e-waste, and sustainable power alternatives
- Working locally, sourcing local materials, building capacity, and building sustainable and effective infrastructure for conservation tech work
- Weighing the environmental impacts of projects and tools against impact of results - how do we ensure that using any given conservation tech/conducting any project is “worth it?”
- Supply chain challenges and opportunities
- Issues and opportunities in accessibility to sustainable conservation technology choices
- Where do your tech tools and their materials come from?
- And more!
If you have an article or story idea that you'd like to pitch for our Sustainability series, contact [email protected] with a 2-3 sentence summary of your proposed piece.
If you have a previous writing sample to share, feel free to attach that as well so our editorial team can get a sense of your writing style; however, previous published writing samples are not required for consideration! Community members of all experience levels and backgrounds are encouraged to pitch ideas.
Add the first post in this thread.